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Many UN relief operations in the Darfur region of Sudan, which has been racked by conflict, are in danger of collapsing within the next few weeks or months, according to Jan Egeland, the UN's under-secretary for humanitarian affairs.

Mr Egeland, briefing journalists after delivering a grim report to the security council on Thursday, blamed a combination of a worsening humanitarian situation, obstruction by the government in Khartoum, attacks by rebels, and dwindling interest and funding from the international community. "I don't think the world has understood how bad it has become of late," he said, adding that the deterioration in the situation that began in August last year "has accelerated more recently in ways that are truly alarming".

He told journalists: "I think it's a matter of weeks or months that we will have a collapse in many of our operations."

A spokeswoman for Mr Egeland's office said yesterday that the types of programmes he saw as being at risk were food delivery, health and nutrition - "the ones that keep people alive". The spokeswoman said the UN announced at the start of the year that it would need $650m (£365m) for Darfur operations this year but so far has only received $131m from the international community. To add to the UN's problems, the figure of $650m will almost certainly have to be revised upwards as a result of about 200,000 people being forced from home in the last three months, adding to the 2 million already displaced since the conflict began in 2003.

Mr Egeland's office said the UN had either no access or limited access to the recently displaced people. Although there are 14,000 aid workers in Darfur now, compared with 350 in 2004, insecurity meant many were unable to leave their camps.

Aid workers are also being harassed by the government. Sudan expelled a Norwegian aid group this month that had been caring for 90,000 people.

The crisis is partly the result of deadlock in the security council. China, which imports oil from Sudan, has blocked punitive measures sought by the US and UK. Mr Egeland named the UK as the only government that has given more money this year than last.